Arc of the Covenant
by KatLiz
Summary: 25 years after the alleged defeat of the Earl, a new generation of exorcists have taken over the Order. But while the exorcists relax, the Noah are on the hunt for something to restore their master's power, known as the Arc of the Covenant...
1. Prologue

**A/N:** Hey all! Here is the prologue of our first story, "Arc of the Covenant." We hope you enjoy :) Please review and give us thoughts/feedback!  
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Disclaimer: **As much as we would love to, KatLiz does not own DGM.... :/ *mourns*

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_~* _**Prologue ***~

_The air that hung over the battlefield was thick and noiseless; thick with blood and sweat and tears. The stench of the three fluids was so strong, one could actually taste the salt and metal in the air. And noiseless, as nine black and red clad soldiers stood, staring in a determined silence as they watched one of their comrades from afar. The lone soldier, barely a man in age, stood strong over a massive figure, glaring down at it with an expression of both malice and accomplishment._

_"It's over," the boy's calm voice broke the heavy silence. The boy raised an oversized broad sword over his head, preparing a finishing blow to his opponent, all the while staring at the figure at his feet. The figure, which turned out to be an overweight, terrifying looking man, grimaced in pain. He began coughing up a black substance, which appeared to be his massive man locked eyes with the boy, sinister gold to gentle gray. The stare down lasted for a minute before the massive, defeated man broke out into a jovial laugh. His deep voice filled the air, as if someone had told him a funny joke. "Finish him, bean sprout!" One of the boys' comrades demanded of Allen, causing the large man only laughed harder._

_"Yes, Allen, finish me!! Complete the prophecy that has been laid out before you!!! Kill me, the Millennium Earl!" His foe shouted up at him, almost taunting him. "You be quiet," Allen hissed, trying not to falter in his duty of destroying the man who had killed countless people. The person who killed his father, his friends, people he dearly cared for, and causing pain to so many. His hand tightened on his sword.__"You… you're just a monster," the boy began, "you've hurt so many people, many people that I care about! Don't you dare speak to me like you've won!!! You've gained nothing but the end of your life!!!" Allen screamed, glaring down at Earl with hatred. The Earl just stared back up at him, his unfaltering smile plastered onto his face. He cackled tauntingly._

_"Oh hohoho my dear boy, you may have won. You may have surpessed the 14th, but this…this is far from over," he sneered, while Allen's eyes widened slightly. The monsterous man continued, malice tainting his jeering expression._

_"I will always return. I am born from the hatred of man!!!! His darkest wishes and desires, so while I may be dormant, just remember this… You're most sinister thoughts will strenghten me, and you're hatred will build me up. I won't merely die… think of it more as a… hiatus," The Earl began laughing again, more of the black substance spilling out with his ugly, deep voice. Allen's eyes narrowed, his lips formed a scowl._

_"I'm sick of hearing you talk. I'm sick of chasing you around, fighting you. It's time for you to die," and with his final word, Allen brought down the mighty broad sword upon his enemy. As the weapon made contact with the Earl, a bright green light emitted from them. The rays of green going in every direction, with slithers of black flying about them. The Earl's deafening and disgustingly painful scream filled the exorcists' ears. Finally, the horrible noise ceased, and the bright green lights began to diminish. Amongst the final rays of light and bits of dark matter, a small black mass hovered above Allen Walker's head, an evil hissing noise emitting from it."Just... DIE!!" Allen cried, as he brought the sword back up, hitting the mass like a baseball. It shattered, and disappeared. The boy watched as the final bits of black fell to the ground and disappeared, dropping the sword to his side. "Finally…" he whispered, a glazy, tearful look stained his gray eyes, a small smile forming on his lips. He let out a shaky breath of air._

_"Allen," said a familiar and friendly voice. He turned, and his comrades, his friends, formed around him. Lavi's signature grin spread wide across his filthy face, Krory's eyes filled with tears, Lenalee's beautiful, tearstained and dirty face had an expression of pure happiness. Even Kanda had a small smile on his face. The greatest part of that moment… they were all alive. All ten exorcists sent out to achieve the final task, assured less than half would survive… but there they were… all alive, and all together. Lenalee stepped towards him, almost nervously. He smiled at her._

_"Allen!" Lenalee cried, as she bounded toward the boy. She wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in the crook. "Is it really over?" she asked hesitantly from their embrace. He pulled her back and looked directly into her violet eyes. "Yes… it's really, finally over," Allen said with wide smile. The group moved in at his words. Lavi yelled joyfully and jumped in the air, charging at his two friends to join their embrace. Krory, Miranda, Marie, and the others joined in, surrounding their savior. As Allen and the others celebrated, there was another who watched from a great distance._

_A quiet, evil chuckle aroused from the overseers lips. The watcher brought up his black-skinned hand, a small fraction of dark matter resting in its palm. "Don't worry, master," the man peered down at the black object with his three eyes, "I'll make sure you get your power back, and that those exorcists pay for what they've done." The remaining Noah, Wisely, turned his back on the celebrating exorcists, gingerly carrying the dark matter away. "Oh, you may think this is over Allen Walker… this battle has only just begun. Just you wait…"  


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TBC...Read and Review! :)


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Hi everyone! :) Hope the prologue intrigued you a little bit! This chapter will be taking place 25 years after the event, so to clear up a little bit of confusion you might have. :P Hope you enjoy, please read and review! Feedback would be wonderful.

**Disclaimer: **Obviously, we don't own DGM. Because if we did...we wouldn't be writing a fanfic, would we? :P Haha. All ideas and original characters belong to us though, so no taking those!

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"Evelyn? Wake up, dear."

"Evelyn,"_ the gentle voice called again. It sounded familiar. _

_A gentle voice called to the dreaming girl. 'Wake up? But I'm wide awake,' she thought hazily, looking around her dreamy realm. She sat atop a crumbling, decrepit surface, blackness surrounded her. It was so vast; it consumed her like a cold blanket. She brought her gaze upward to find the blackness was lit up by a million brilliant stars. She smiled at the beautiful, distant fixtures… she had always wanted to hold one. She reached up in an attempt to grab one._

_As she stretched her arm out, she noticed something had stained the flesh around the cross shape engraving in her arm, something dark red. A feeling of panic arose in her chest. 'Wha-?!' she thought erratically, as she brought both hands up to her face to examine them, and found both were covered in blood. Tears began to well up in her gray eyes_.

"What's going on?"

"She won't wake up."

_The girl could barely hear the voices anymore--her head was spinning and she was confused. Where did the blood come from? She looked down, searching for the source. There lay a handsome man with his head resting in her lap. His deep brown eyes stared back, filled with nothing. He was dead. She examined him and noticed deep gashes scoured his once toned body. His black hair was matted with blood. She didn't recognize the dead man. But though he was unfamiliar to her, her heart began to break as if he was someone very dear to her, someone she loved._

_She couldn't bear to look at the stranger any longer and she tore her eyes, tears pouring from them. But instead of relief from what she had seen, she found more carnage. This time, there on the deteriotating ground beside her lay someone she instantly recognized. She saw the young man's dark red hair soaked with blood, his emerald eyes unrecognizable without the usual life shining in them. She inhaled sharply and looked around, scared and desperate. Everywhere she looked brought only more familiar, but broken, figures. Panic overtook her: everyone she knew, everyone she loved… dead. Her tear filled eyes finally fell on a particular figure, causing a scream to escape her throat. She saw his once strong body mangled. His snow white hair, so much like hers, stained red. His gray eyes empty…_"You're not doing it right, Johnny,"_ a voice said over her dreams._"Wakey, wakey Eva!!"

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"EEEYAAAARGH!!!!" Eva screamed, bolting straight up in her chair from the sudden shock of cold at her neck. After reeling for a moment, she instantly glared accusingly at the perpetrator.

"What the hell was that?!?! Jian! You jerk!" She yelled at the young man standing over her, a bag of ice in his hand. An innocent smile was plastered on his face, but a cunning expression shone in his gray eyes.

"Afternoon, sis!" He said cheerfully, whipping his head around to remove his messy black hair from his eyes. Eva scowled deeply at him. "Ugh, why did you do that?" She demanded, rubbing the back of her neck. Her brother continued to grin slyly back at her. The short man next to him cleared his throat and smiled at Eva. Eva and Jian turned and looked at him.

"Chief Komui paged, he has a mission for you!" the man, Johnny Gil, piped up, peering through his massive glasses and running his hand over his bald head. "Oh, thanks Johnny!" Eva said warmly, while Johnny smiled sheepishly. She turned and glared at her brother. "Jian… you'll pay for this," she said malevolently to her older brother, who just laughed quietly.

As she turned to leave, Jian suddenly called out to her. "Eva! Are you… alright?" he asked cautiously. Surprised by his tone, Eva turned to face him and found a genuine look of concern on his face. "I'm fine, why?" she asked slowly. She was used to her brother being protective…but worry wasn't something typical of him. "You just… looked like you'd been crying, that's all," Jian stated with an air of nonchalance, but as usual, Eva noticed his real emotions shone through his gray eyes. "O-oh," she stammered. "N-no, I'm fine," she reassured him with a smile, which he returned.

"Well…alright," Jian said sincerely. "You better hurry up and go see the Chief before he flips out. You know how he gets," he chuckled. He waved goodbye and turned back to Johnny. Evelyn turned back once again and left the room, striding quickly down the hall. She brought her hand up and touched the soft skin underneath her eye. She felt remnants of moisture. 'Why had I been crying, while I was asleep?' She felt a vague sense of great sadness in the pit of her stomach. 'Did I have a dream while I was sitting there? Or maybe it was a nightmare...'

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As Eva walked, she racked her brain, trying to recall the dream she had but the only thing that was coming to her was that feeling of terrible despair. It began to creep up and overtake her very being. She began to feel an overwhelming depression, weighing down on her like a sack of bricks. Panic plagued her mind. She started to walk faster, as if attempting to outrun the anxiety. "Almost there, I'll be fine once I reach- Ah ha!" She stopped abruptly, sighing with relief. Her salvation lay straight ahead, beyond the two beautiful hand-carved wooden doors with golden handles shining angelically. She broke out into a light run towards the artful doors. Eva was sure that once she reached the Chief's office, she'd be safe from the memory of those wretched feelings. She just needed, wanted, to forget about them. A new mission would be the perfect escape.

She reached out her hand and pushed down on the handle. With all her might, she thrust the heavy door open, bounding into the room. "Hey! I'm here," she breathed. Eva couldn't help herself from expressing her relief. She was right; the feelings had evaporated instantly once she ran inside the warm, messy office. "Oh! Hello, Evelyn. My, you're energetic today," said a man from somewhere beyond a stack of papers, taking account of her disheveled appearance.

The man was Komui, the head of the Black Order. "Well of course! I'm always happy to see my Uncle!" Eva said warmly. She beamed at the tall, aging man with kindness. He chuckled and said, "Sucking up will only get you so far. Have a seat, my dear niece." He motioned for the girl to sit on the sofa in front of his desk. Evelyn stepped forward but soon stopped.

"Um, Uncle?" she asked warily, looking about the room with slight bewilderment. "Yes?" Komui answered as he sat behind his own desk, looking at her inquisitively. Eva scratched her head in confusion and turned her attention back to her uncle. "Where's the sofa?" Eva responded bluntly.

Where the couch should've been lay several books and papers, arranged in elaborate and oversized stacks. "Um, well it's…uh," Komui blustered. He sat stiffly at his desk and adjusted his glasses. "You know what, why don't you just stand? The others should be here soon anyway," the girl's uncle said jovially in an attempt to change the subject, while a nervous laugh escaped his lips.

"Others?" she asked, but as soon as the word escaped her lips, she heard the doors open. She turned, and instantly, a huge smile spread over her face. Two young men walked in. The first young man who entered was tall, with dark auburn hair and a jovial expression plastered across his face. The other, of asian decent, sauntered in behind him with a serious look reflecting in his onyx eyes.

"Sorry we're late Chief, we got held up doin'… somethin' else," the red haired young man said suspiciously, his trademark Irish accent lacing his words. The thin, quiet individual next to him scowled.

"Oh, it was something else, alright," the other muttered irritably, running his hand through his jet black hair in exasperation. Eva's face lit up completely at the sight of the two and moved to greet them. Komui, watching the boys, twitched behind his desk and irritably crumpled a piece of paper.

"Zak! Shiro!" Eva yelled with excitement, running to meet her two best friends. "Eva!" cried Zak, the red-head, while the other young man, Shiro, smiled. They made to greet the girl in their usual fashion, with a bone-crushing hug (on Zak's part at least), but stopped instantly at the sight of the Chief. He glared at the two boys with pure evil and hatred, and it was quickly assessed any slight touch to his beloved niece and they were dead. Zak shot the erratic Chief a wide grin, innocently running a hand through his messy auburn hair. Shiro straightened himself out and donned a steely expression.

"You wanted to see us, Chief?" He asked firmly, with a severe expression across his face. Evelyn and Zak had to stop themselves from laughing at the young man's usual attempt to imitate his father's hardened attitude.

Komui, too, let a small smile escape. "Ah, yes. I have a mission for you three," he said while half-heartedly searching for some papers on his desk. Zak's eyes lit up immediately.

"Seriously? Awesome, it's been a while since we've been able to kick some akuma ass," Zak exclaimed, moving about animatedly. Eva nodded eagerly in agreement and Shiro shifted around uncomfortably, trying to hide his agreement with the other two. Komui, finally finding what he was searching for on his desk, frowned slightly at the teenagers' displays.

"I know you're excited, but don't get reckless. Here are your mission briefs," the Chief said, as he passed out three black folders, one for each of the teenagers standing before him. Zak, practically snatching it out of Komui's hands, earned a harsh look and raised brow from the man. Taking in the Chief's incredulous expression, the young man snorted indignantly.

"Oh, c'mon Chief, I am exceptionally careful! I have nev—hey, Chief, you alright?" Zak asked as he stopped mid-sentence when he took notice of the change of expression on Komui's face. He had looked almost worried.

"What? Oh no, I'm just dandy! You kids needn't worry about this old man!" he nearly shouted, trying to assuage them. He laughed nervously and continued on. He gestured to the large map positioned behind his desk, and pointed his finger to a point in Europe circled on the map.

"Anyway, you're destination is Saint Malo, France. It's small city, surrounded by a brick wall. Unusually heavy akuma activity has been noticed in the area, causing us to believe that they are there for a reason. It could be innocence, or it could just be that they're throwing a devastating party. Either way, we can't have them running around freely, so clean them all up, and make sure the people of Saint Malo stay safe," the Chief finished. He tapped his watch and sat back down behind his desk. "You leave right away. Be ready," he added, and with this, the three nodded and quickly left the office.

"Oh man, oh man, oh man!" Zak nearly squealed with excitement as he burst out of the Chief's office. "Do ya know how long it's been since we've been on a mission?!" He called out to the other two, who were practically running to keep up with their considerably taller friend's long strides. Eva nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it's been a few months now, hasn't it?" Eva said calmly, trailing behind Zak alongside Shiro, who shrugged indifferently.

"Man, it feels like it's been years!" Zak yelled loudly, as he whipped around to look at his two friends suddenly. He narrowed his eyes at them and frowned.

"You guys, ya gotta be excited or somethin'!" he scowled as he adjusted his stare accusingly towards Shiro. Frowning, Shiro quickly glanced away from his friend's glare, and seemingly found the walls much more interesting to pay attention to. Zak leaned closer into Shiro's personal space as he tried to intimidate the other young man.

"Shiro, man… I know you're excited," Zak said serious tone. Shiro blinked a few times, taken back, but quickly recovered.

"E-excited? Don't be stupid Zak, this is a serious mission," he stuttered. Zak let out a boisterous laugh, while Shiro picked up his pace in irritation. Zak through his arms up in the air in exasperation.

"C'mon, Shiro, don't give me that! I know you, you're excited," he said flatly, rolling his eyes at his companion's feigned seriousness. The Irishman began to slow his pace down a little bit and fell into stride with his two friends. "Gosh… I can't really get over it," Zak began, "Master Walker told me that he used to be away on missions all the time. He said he was almost never at the Order. I just can't believe that! We've been stuck here for ages." He scowled deeply at the fact. Eva flinched next to him.

"Are you serious?" Eva gasped at the news. "Why has he never told me that…" She wondered aloud, her eyebrows furrowing. Zak continued on.

"Man, I just can't believe there were ever that many akuma. I mean yeah, they're a threat an' all, but they don' seem like that big of a deal, you know?" he said with confusion in his voice. Shiro turned to Zak.

"I don't know, it seems as though there's something we're missing," he said idly. Zak narrowed his eyes; he didn't like Shiro's arrogant tone nor his attempt to prove him wrong.

"What are you talkin' about? Like what?" Zak snapped. While the young Irish and Japanese men began a heated discussion, Eva was thinking hard about something else. Why would her father not tell her about his missions…?

"Hey guys," she said suddenly. The two were caught up in their argument. "Guys!" she snapped. The two stopped their bickering abruptly at the sharp tone of her voice and turned quickly towards her. Shiro looked away slightly abashed at losing his temper and Zak cleared his throat.  
"What's up?" Zak asked coolly. Eva rubbed her head at the two boys' behavior.

"I'm gonna go get my things ready so we can leave," Eva said quietly. Both young men seemed slightly shocked for a moment, as they had completely forgotten they were to get ready for their mission during their arguement. They both looked at Eva sheepishly at forgetting something so important.

"Oh crap, you're right! I gotta get my stuff," Zak said as he lightly smacked his head while smiling at Eva. "Yeah, we should prepare," Shiro nodded in solemn agreement. Eva smiled lightly at the two.

"Okay then, guys, meet me at the entrance in fifteen?" Eva asked as she began to turn towards her room. Zak nodded and gave her a sly smile.

"You got it, lovely" Zak said with a wink, and turned. "I'll be there," Shiro said, rolling his eyes at their obnoxious friend. Zak, who was already quickly headed towards his destination, made a sudden noise and stopped abruptly. He began to ring his hands and laughed nervously.

"Oh, ye know, we better make it ten, I don' think I want to be here that long," he called to them, with feigned calm. Eva and Shiro stared at him in confusion. "Wha—?" they began, as they both raised their eyebrows at their friend's sudden strange behavior. They weren't able to question him as Zak quickly interrupted.

"Don' ask questions!" Zak yelled erratically from down the hall as he ran away with frantic speed. Eva and Shiro gawked as they watched their friend disappear completely from their sight. Shiro sighed.

"It's honestly better that way," Shiro said with exasperation, pinching the bridge of his nose and clenching his eyes in frustration. He opened them again and looked at Eva. "See you in ten minutes, then," he sighed warily. Eva smiled weakly and nodded, before falling back into troubled thoughts, as she eventually made her way to her destination.

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"Hello, anyone home?" Eva called out as she entered a massive room. She looked around at what resembled a living room: a sofa set, tables, and bookshelves. It looked lived in and well used, though at the moment the place was eerily empty. After waiting a moment in anticipation for a response that didn't come, she frowned slightly.

"Guess not," Eva sighed, slightly disappointed. She really wanted to talk to her father. She crossed the room and passed through a doorway on the other side and down a small hallway. She entered a smaller room, with a full sized bed donned with purple bedding, and several books, weights, and drawings strewn carelessly about the room. She sighed again at the sight and got to work packing a few clothes and other useful things for her mission into a medium sized suit case. Eva scowled in frustration.

"Crap… where… is it?!" she groaned as she struggled, groping for something underneath a pile of clothes on the floor. "Man, I gotta clean this place out more," she said finally after an unsuccessful attempt at finding the item, as she placed her hands on her hips with a defeated look on her face.

"That's what we keep telling you, but you just don't listen to us," a voice cheerfully sounded from the doorway. In shock at the sudden noise, Eva whipped around to see a man standing there, donned with an 'I-told-you-so' expression on his handsome, but weathered, face.

"Dad!" she exhaled, "How long have you been standing there?" She looked at him suspiciously, staring directly into the gray eyes she had inherited from him.

"Oh, long enough," he chuckled. He walked over to his daughter and ruffled her snow white hair, another similarity between the two. Eva laughed but playfully shoved him off. Brushing herself off, she looked at her father for a brief moment. "Hmm, well then—I need to get going, I just wanted to say bye before I left," she announced making her way past him. Her father blinked in confusion.

"Get going? Where are you off to?" he asked slowly, his eyebrows coming together in puzzlement. With her back turned to him, Eva stopped for a moment at his question, but then continued packing. She took a deep breath, knowing that the answer wasn't going to go over well with her father.

"I have a mission," she stated nonchalantly, internally bracing for her father's reaction. She continued to move about the room with her back turned to him, in a small attempt to avoid what was coming. There was a few moment pause until, as she predicted, her father exploded in fury.

"A mission?! Where?! Why didn't anyone tell me?!?!" he shouted, his voice echoing loudly in the small room. Eva sighed irritably; she hadn't been in the mood for a confrontation. She put her things down for a moment and turned around to her father, desperately trying not to lose her calm at his reaction.

"Calm down, Dad, I've been on missions before," She said, almost exasperated. 'Here we go again,' she wryly thought to herself. Her dad always got like this when she was assigned a mission, though they were few and far between. Her father continued on.

"You watch that tone, young lady!" he said angrily, "you know I hate it when you go out and risk—"Eva cut him off abruptly, having enough of his angry outburst. She glowered at her father, she was tired of all this.

"My life, I know," she snapped. At this point, she had turned and stared harshly at her father. "Dad, I'll be fine, Zak and Shiro are going too! It's not like I'm going alone," she said defensively. Her father scowled deeply.

"Oh, that makes me feel so much better," he mumbled, sarcasm tainting every word. Eva rolled her eyes.

"Oh, come off it, Dad! You trained Zak yourself, so you should at least trust him… Oh!" She said, suddenly, remembering something she wanted to ask him. The sensitive topic of missions had reminded her. Taking a deep breath, she sought a way to ask the question. "Zak said that… you told him you used to be on missions all of the time… that you were never at the Order… is this true?" She asked timidly, already aware of the type of answer she would get. Her father would always get a little weird when she asked about his past, she mused… maybe not particularly weird, but defensive. She watched him carefully as he answered her. He shifted uncomfortably.

"Uh… yes, that's true, I suppose," he said, looking at the floor instead of meeting her eyes. Aware of this, Eva continued to probe for more information.

"Will you… tell me about your missions? What were they like?" she questioned, eagerly hoping for a decent answer instead of an evasion this time. Her heart pounded anxiously, in high hopes that this time, the reply would be honest.

"Oh, they're just like yours. They weren't anything special," the man said indifferently, shrugging. Eva's lips tightened. "Dad!" she begged in frustration. Her father smiled weakly at her. "Evelyn, you don't want to hear this old man's stories. Trust me, they're pretty boring," he said with a laugh, but in a 'don't-ask-again' tone.

Eva looked at the floor, with her brows furrowed with frustration and clenched her fists angrily. Her emotions boiled and anger flashed through her with red hot fury. Why did he always act this way…? She was so tired of it! She wasn't stupid or completely ignorant, so why would he act like she was? Eva was overwhelmed by anxiety at the way he treated her.

"Why… why won't you ever tell me anything!" she demanded, snapping her head back up and looking hard into his face. The man was taken back. "Evelyn," he trailed slowly. "No! Answer me, Dad!" she spat, her heart aching with a mixture of sadness and aggravation. The two glared at each other, frustration in her father's eyes and sadness in hers.

"I tell you a lot of things, but there are just some things you don't need to know, that's all," he offered, trying to calm her. Though his expression was calm, his body appeared stiff with tension and tired. Eva could tell he didn't want to be confronted, but she continued on. She wasn't going to back down this time, simply because it made her father uncomfortable. What he was doing was unfair to her.

"How can you decide whether or not I don't need to know? I'm your daughter, why are you hiding things!?" she shouted, as she began fighting back angry tears. She just wanted a straight answer. What looked to be sadness overtook her father's face.

"Evelyn," the man sighed, "just let this go, for now, we'll talk later." He looked at her for a moment with apprehension in his eyes. He turned away from her and began to leave the room, just wanting the fight to end. Eva's expression turned furious, and moved to follow him.

"No, I want an answer, now!" She demanded. She lunged foward from her spot and grabbed his arm tightly, pulling him back from the door with anger-fueled effort. Immediately, the man's movement stopped.

"Fine!" he snapped and whipped around angrily, causing her to jump back and let go of him. "What could you possibly want to know?!" he bellowed furiously. She was in shock, was he being serious? Eva's eyes widened and all her retorts died in her throat. She had never seen her normally benevolent father in such a furious state before. It was as though he was a different person: the haunted, livid look in his eyes were not the caring, calm ones she loved so dearly and grew up with.

As she studied his face for a moment, she was unsure of what to ask. He looked incredibly angry. As she examined her father's strong, usually kind, face she knew what it was she wanted to ask. She took a deep breath and willed herself to say it.

"H-how did you get that scar?" Eva asked, indicating the start shaped scar over his left eye. It was something that had always fascinated and mystified her since she was a small child. Her father looked at her with a serious expression for a moment. "An accident," he said harshly, as her jaw dropped. "Hey! That's not—"

"Eva, are you still here?" A different voice cut in to the argument. Both Eva and her father turned to the sound of footsteps enclosing to the room. It was Jian and Johnny.

"O-oh, excuse us, General Walker!" Johnny bowed, apologizing to Eva's father. He seemed embarrassed to have disturbed the General. Jian, on the other hand, eyed the scene critically.

"Hey Dad, are we… interrupting something?" Jian asked, aware of the tension between his father and his sister, his gaze flickering between the two. His father shook his head immediately.

"Oh no—Jian, Johnny, please come in," the General said, relieved for the distraction, running a hand through his hair and sighing. Jian shot a brief, questioning look over at his fuming sister. As though sensing the tension in the room, Johnny coughed nervously, and began fumbling around for something in the satchel at his side. At last, he seemed to have found what he was looking for, as he pulled out a small device encased in his hand. He turned to face Jian.

"Well, uh…," Johnny began awkwardly, "Jian, here, made and excellent device for Eva!" he announced proudly, as if he made the device himself. Forgetting about the situation between his sister and father for a moment, Jian grinned enthusiastically and took the small object from Johnny.

"Yeah!" he said excitedly. He gestured to his sister. "Eva, check this out! It's an emergency call device! If you're ever in danger and need help, press this button," Jian held up the small device, which was ergonomically shaped with a medium sized red button in the center. "…and it will alert us at the Order and we can send help! Here, Dad, I made this alert device for you, so you could be alerted along with the order, in case you're out on a mission or something," Jian finished, rummaging through his lab coat and handing a matching device with speakers instead of a button over to their father. The General beamed at him.

"Jian, this is completely ingenious!" he said affectionately as he examined the object. He looked back at his son's eager face and smiled warmly. "My son, I am so proud," he said as he patted his son on the shoulder.

Jian blushed, happiness shining in his eyes as his brilliant smile crept up onto his face. "Th-thanks!" he said bashfully. After a quick moment, he turned his attention back over to his younger sister. "Oh, yeah here Eva, just attach this here—"He clipped the device onto one of the belt loops on her exorcists' uniform. Eva bristled irritably at the gesture.

"Jian, I'll be fine." She said angrily, glowering at her brother. Jian took a step back from her after he securing the device, moved his dark hair from his eyes and looked at her quizzically.

"What's wrong?" Jian asked in confusion, bewildered by his sister's anger. The General, watching the two, quickly intervened before Eva's now short temper grew any more. He stepped in front of Eva, inadverdently blocking Jian.

"Oh, this just in case, dear!" her father said quickly, in an attempt to defend the device. "In case you can't handle an akuma or—" he attempted to continue, but was interrupted.

"I can handle an akuma!" Eva burst loudly. She breathed furiously. Why did they have to be like this? They were always so overprotective, it was embarrassing! They didn't trust her to take care of herself. She was tired of the uproar caused by the supposedly simple mission.

"I've got to go, I have a mission," she said sternly. She gripped her bag tightly and pushed passed her brother and Johnny, walking fast down the hallway. Johnny moved spastically out of the doorway to avoid her pushing him out of the way as well. Luckily he did, because it wasn't long before the General followed her out.

"Evelyn! Evelyn, wait!" her father called after her anxiously. "You need to tell your mom!" Evelyn felt her heart pang sadly at not saying goodbye to her mother, but she didn't have the time now. And besides, the last thing she needed at this moment was to have another person fussing over her assignment. "Tell her for me, I have to leave!" she said without turning back. She didn't want him to see her flushed face.

The General sighed as he watched his daughter walk furtively away from him. 'Evelyn… I'm just trying to protect you… all of you,' he thought as he eyed his son out of his peripheral vision.

"Is she alright, dad?" Jian asked, turning to look at his father. The General spotted the concern in his son's face. "Yeah, she's fine, son. You know how embarrassed she gets when everybody starts fussing over her like that!" he laughed, trying to ease him and his son's worries. He patted Jian reassuringly on the back, and Jian smiled lightly.

"Yeah, you're right," Jian laughed, shaking his head at his sister's behavior. "Well, I have to get back to work. I'm developing emergency buttons for all of the exorcists! I'll see you, tonight, Dad!" he said to his father, and with that, Jian ran off. General Walker watched his back as he ran off, the same worries returning to his mind.

"You know, Allen," a voice said at his shoulder. He turned his head quickly; he had almost forgotten Johnny had been there. "We're going to have to tell them, all of them, one day," he finished solemnly. Allen nodded gravely.

"Yeah," Allen Walker agreed with wariness in his voice, "Hopefully not one day too soon, though."

"Eva, what took you so long!?" Zak loudly demanded of his white haired, female friend, tapping his foot anxiously. He was looking about erratically, as though he was expecting something to happen at any moment. He set his gaze back at Eva, and tapped his foot louder as though he was willing her to pick up her pace. Eva paid no attention to him as she brushed by him.

"Don't worry about it, let's just go," she answered with a slightly irritated tone, walking quickly across the entrance room as a worker came up to her to take her luggage. Shiro seemed to agree with her statement and moved into action as he moved away from the wall he was leaning on.

"Yes, we should leave now, the horses are getting restless," Shiro said, ushering them out the door. A large, dark carriage awaited the trio, ready to take them to the train station. They climbed inside, and the carriage took off. Eva glared angrily out the window as they moved further and further away from the order, cursing her father's smart ass replies and Jian's stupid button. Though she was rightfully angry, she felt a slight bit of regret for upsetting her father and brother so much.

"Are you alright?" Shiro's voice interrupted her thoughts and she turned to face her two friends. They both had looks of concern on their faces, even though Shiro tried hard to conceal his.

They had a good idea of why she was upset; after being together many years at the Order, they knew her father didn't take the news of Eva being involved on missions well. Though the man was easily the strongest exorcist at the Order, he easily melted at the prospect of his youngest child going away on missions. Zak gave her his goofy grin and Shiro smiled passively at her in an attempt to lift her mood. Eva couldn't help but smile back; her friends had a way of cheering her up just by being there. How they always seemed to figure out what was bothering her so easily baffled her. Grinning, she began to speak to them.

"Awe, you guys, I—" _KABOOM. _A thunderous noise came from behind the carriage, rattling the inside. Eva peered out of the window, smoke arising from near the science wing of the Order. Zak flinched in his seat at the sound.

"Hey driver, let's pick up the pace!" Zak yelled nervously to driver. Eva raised an eyebrow as Zak chuckled."Told ya I didn't wanna stick around," he said, as he grinned mischievously at Eva's amused expression.

"You didn't," she began, but Shiro finished for her. "Oh he did," Shiro said, his face buried in his palm. The trio glanced at one another for a quick moment, and then exploded into laughter that lasted all the way to train station.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

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TBC!

My goodness, lots of questions going on in this chapter, eh? XD Its probably along the lines of...What on earth was that creepy dream? Who the heck is Eva, Jian, Shiro, and Zak??!? (Though...I'm sure through process of elimination...and epic reasoning skills...you have probably figured out mostly who is who..XD...haha. Particularly Jian and Eva!) Why is Allen so secretive about the past to Eva? What's going to happen on the mission?  
Well, most will be answered within time. :) One can't reveal everything in one chapter, eh? There will be plenty of new OCs coming up (not just exorcist kids, like Jian and Eva...sorry if you don't dig that, but its for story purposes that's integral to the plot :3 eh heh) and other things.

Hope you enjoyed, please read and review. X3


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